The present invention relates to a stroller, and more particularly, to a compact stroller that can be easily folded.
Strollers of a large size and complicated design are known to have a handle that can be switched or changed as to its orientation to be in either a forward position or a rearward position. For these robust and large size strollers, the handles are often very large to meet practical needs and the components of the stroller as a whole are not collapsible or foldable. During changing orientation of such handles, a pivotal movement of the handle about an end portion thereof is performed. The pivotal movement about the end portion, instead of other portions near an intermediate of the handle, insures that a maximum horizontal distance is traveled by hand grip of the handle, which is desired for a large size stroller. A locking mechanism is provided on an upper portion of the handle, spaced a distance from the end portion, to releasably anchor the handle in the forward or rearward position.
A compact stroller, in contrast to the above mentioned large size strollers, is simple in structure and usually can be collapsed or folded. Such type of strollers can be seen in Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 5,460,398, entitled "Foldable Stroller", filed on Sep. 28, 1994, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,402, dated Jun. 27, 1995. It is noted that these two patent applications disclose a respective foldable stroller having novel folding device. However, these simple strollers are not equipped with a mechanism permitting a change or switch of position of the handle. With this in mind, the present invention aims at providing a foldable stroller in which the handle can be shifted between a forward position and a rearward position so as to change the advancing direction of the stroller as desired.